Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin has described Darragh O’Brien’s affordable housing schemes as ‘in crisis’. The Dublin Mid West TD’s comments were made after the Minister for Housing published his Quarter 3 social and affordable housing report.

Teachta Ó Broin said:

“Today Darragh O’Brien published his Quarter 3 social and affordable housing report. Despite his dishonest portrayal of the figures, it is clear that once again he is going to miss his social and affordable housing delivery targets this year.

“The Minister’s plan promises 9100 new build social homes this year. At the end of September just 2642 had been delivered. Given that just 29% of this crucial target has been delivered by the end of the quarter it is hard to see him meeting the 9100 target by year’s end.

“These are the much needed homes for families and single people trapped in emergency homeless accommodation and languishing on lengthy Council waiting lists. Not only are his targets too low but once again he is not meeting them.

“More worrying is the output of Minister O’Brien’s key affordable housing schemes. This year he is meant to deliver 3500 real affordable homes through Councils, AHBs and the LDA. By the end of September just 262 had been delivered. That just 7% of these desperately needed affordable rental and purchase homes have been delivered by the end of September shows that the schemes are in crisis. Not only are the targets too low but the Minister is simply not delivering.

“Local Authorities have delivered just 159 affordable purchase homes and AHBs have delivered just 56 cost rental homes to date in September, and many of these are not affordable. Astonishingly by the end of Q3 the LDA had not delivered a single affordable home this year.

“Minister O’Brien is also continuing to dishonestly present the figures for the controversial First Home Scheme. In today’s report he claims that 1844 First Home loans have been delivered by the end of Quarter 3. However over on the First Home Loan scheme website they make it clear that just 562 actual purchases had occurred by the end of September. The fact that the Minister fails to mention this in his report today shows that he is deliberately trying to inflate his delivery figures.

“Whatever way you look at it Darragh O’Brien is missing his inadequate social and affordable housing targets. The consequence is rising rents, rising house prices and rising homelessness. The longer Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are in power the worse this housing crisis will get. Only a Sinn Féin led Government will build the genuinely affordable homes that tens of thousands of people desperately need and rightly deserve.”